UNION CITY, MI — A powerful tornado ripped through Union City, leaving residents shaken and neighborhoods in ruins as recovery efforts got underway.
WATCH: Union City tornado kills 3, injures 12 as community rallies to help survivors recover
Neighbors described the storm as unlike anything they had experienced before.
James Jackson had just been to his garage before the storm swept through his neighborhood.
"I heard the freight train coming, I got in the house, was going down to the basement and I could hear trees snapping, snap snap snap," Jackson said.
Jackson said he is counting his blessings, as much of the damage on his property was limited to trees, shingles, and windows.
"If I had been in there and that tree had fallen 10 feet to the east, I wouldn't be alive," Jackson said.
At nearby Union Lake, images from the Michigan State Police show the devastation. Roads in the area were closed as recovery efforts were underway.
Branch County Sheriff Fred Blankenship confirmed lives were lost.
"We did have 3 fatalities here last night, we had 12 people injured as well," Blankenship said.
Union City Community Schools Superintendent Patrick McKerr said neighbors have stepped to donate much-needed supplies and are now in the process of distributing them.
"Support from the community has been overwhelming, we're trying to coordinate now, how do we get this out to the people who need it? We recognize coming here might not be the easiest form, but if we can get these resources out is our next step at this point," McKerr said.
Residents are already starting to recover from the storm. Part of Lee Hadden's building was ripped off, but he is choosing to see the silver lining.
"Fortunately it wasn't that bad," Hadden said.
Down the street, a church is now missing part of its roof, power poles snapped, and trees are gone.
Jackson said he is still processing everything that happened.
"I was amazed that my house survived what it did, but it's tore this town up," Jackson said.
I spoke with residents in Union City as they began picking up the pieces in the wake of the storm.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
